


The Reversal

by KawaiiNinja



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Comfort, Cute, Fluff, Turtle Tots (TMNT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:20:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22310062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiNinja/pseuds/KawaiiNinja
Summary: Sometimes Mikey wished that he wasn't the youngest. However, be careful for what you wish for, as it may just come true. A single accident was all it took to change the turtle's lives.Now Mikey is the oldest. Somehow, his older brothers' ages have reversed. The orange clad turtle is left to care for three turtle tots of brothers.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 39





	1. The Wish

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy this new story! Be prepared to be hit with cuteness and fluff in future chaps <3

"That's not what it means, shell for brains!" Mikey yelped, awaiting the smack to his head. However, it never came, as Donnie placed a gentle hand on the top of his head.

"Come on, team. We bust in and stop the Purple Dragons," Leo ordered, motioning with his hand for everyone to take action.

"Awww yeah boi!" Mikey grinned, lunging forward only to feel a hand halting him. He grunted, scowling as he turned to find that it was Leo who stopped him, a hand on his plastron.

"This is serious, Mikey. You promised you wouldn't slack off. You need to focus."

"Chill lax, Leo!" Mikey rolled his eyes. "I won't do anything this time!"

"I know, but we don't want you getting hurt like last time," Leo emphasized, turning back to face the warehouse down below. Mikey could see Raph gazing at him through his peripheral vision. The hothead stepping closer to Mikey's side. Donnie was even glancing back at him as Mikey huffed deeply.

Right, ever since he got badly injured on the latest patrol his brothers have been getting a little... overprotective of him. They were always babying him, scolding him to be more careful. At first Mikey didn't mind, but sometimes it got on his nerves. It was like they wouldn't let him out of his sight. But to be honest, they've always scolded him since he was the youngest.

Mikey followed his bros as they leapt down, barging into the warehouse to find the Purple Dragons attempting to steal special chemicals. Leo unsheathed his katana blades ordering them to tie up the gang members and that they should leave or get shell lashed.

The orange clad turtle twirled his kusarigama chain, wrapping it around one of the men as his other brothers leapt into action. Mikey felt himself taunting the chained man, swinging him around to slam into others. "Ha! Take that!" It was then he felt something sharp slicing across his arm. Mikey yelped, gazing at right arm to find a little cut. It was a small one, thin cut that Mikey could recognize anywhere. Someone had thrown a shuriken at him. And it had cut him. It wasn't bad, as only a droplet of blood had oozed out from the wound.

The freckled terrapin turned to find one gangster charging at him, blade in hand. Mikey braced himself, bending his knees as he lifted his chucks. He was about to swing, only to find that Raph had beaten him to it.

He socked the man in the face, sending him colliding into the wall. "Hey! I had him!" Mikey scowled. Usually Raph would reply with a typical: too slow! But the turtle instead stood protectively in front of Mikey, fending off the other gangsters that had the freckles terrapin surrounded.

"He was about to slice your throat," Raph replied, twirling his sais as he growled, delivering blows and punches.

Mikey gasped, feeling a roundhouse kick to his shell, causing him to fall forward. His plastron scrapped against the floor, groaning at the uncomfortable feeling. He lifted his head to find someone holding a knife above him. A bo staff flew through the air, the blade prodding out as the man let out a scream of bloody murder. Mikey saw blood spraying through the air, the man's hand bleeding profoundly as Donnie rounded on him.

He felt himself being lifted by the edges of his shell, Leo's grip tight on him. Mikey scrutinized their surroundings to find that the men were fleeing, others laying wounded and tied up. Donnie bent over, grasping the vial of chemicals.

"Got it, Leo."

"Good job ninjas." Mikey felt Leo release him. The youngest's nerves were tingling. Now his older brother's protectiveness was just ticking him off.

"I was fine, I had that one dude," he said. As his three brothers sheathed their weapons.

"No ya didn't, ya bonehead," he received a gently jab from Raph.

"Glad you're all right, little brother," he felt a hand rubbing his head. It was Donnie. "You sure that cut doesn't hurt?" He gazed worriedly at the small intrusion on Mikey's arm.

"Yeah, it's nothing just a scratch." Donnie took one good look at it before nodding, seemingly satisfied. "We can wrap it up when we get back."

The youngest followed his brothers out from the building and into the coolness of the midnight air. The breeze was gently against Mikey's skin, almost soothing. The night was beautiful, the city lights ablaze, but Mikey could also see the stars twinkling you above. There were no clouds to obscure the sky.

"Wow, the stars sure look lovely tonight," Donnie commented, the other two stopping to pinpoint their gazes to the sky. "We should go up onto high ground for a better view." The three obliged, climbing up a rooftop to be away from the flare of the city lights. The night sky was ablaze with stars, twinkling and shining like little gems.

"It's beautiful," Mikey awed in wonder. He knelt down near the edge of the rooftop, eyes roaming across the sky. One particular star stood out to him, gleaming above the rest. "Dudes! Look it's a wishing star!" He pointed up above.

"Looks like someone has been watching too many Disney movies," Raph rolled his eyes. Leo chuckled as Donnie opened his mouth.

"That's actually the North Star, Mikey. Or as it's real term is called, Polaris. It's latinized to Alpha Ursae Minoris."

"In English Einstein," Raph huffed, folding his arms across his plastron.

"It's the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor. Though Polaris won't be the North Star forever, due to the Earth's rotation on its axis. In the year thirty thousand B.C. it was known as Thuba, aka Alpha Draconis. In thirteen thousand years from now; Vega will become the new North Star."

Mikey stared at the twinkling star, tuning out his brothers' voices. He let out a breath before whispering into the midnight air. "Sometimes, I wished that I wasn't the youngest." The star flickered for a moment, pausing briefly, before returning to its rhythmic twinkling.

"Come on, let's go home, ninjas." The moment they four of them had climbed down manhole and through the sewers. They walked home to the Lair. Mikey grinned, receiving hugs and a noogie from Raph before heading off to bed as did the others.

The orange masked turtle took off his bandana, laying it against his bedpost. He suddenly felt tired, as if that patrol had taken everything out of him. Sleep sounded so good, ah yes. He just wanted a little break, a break from being scolded from his older brothers all the time. It would be nice that he wasn't the youngest for a change.

Mikey closed his eyes, laying back against his mattress as exhaustion took over him. He was out cold just like that.


	2. Reversing Accident

Mikey awoke feeling refreshed. Man he must've been so tired last night if he was out like a light the moment he hit his mattress. It wasn't like him to be that exhausted, but the turtle didn't care. He would probably be dozing off in morning training just like those other times. Wait, training?! He craned his neck to stare at his alarm clock. It read twelve PM it was already afternoon.

Usually his brothers would've come already to wake him up, especially Raph. The hothead would be banging on his door, eliciting a groan from the orange clad turtle. Did they... forget to wake him up this time? Was he really that worn out from last night? Mikey rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes, tying his orange bandana around his head. He stood up, trudging out from his bedroom.

"Dudes?" He called, walking to the nearest bedroom next to his. Opening the door he found the room empty, except for Chompy making little noises on Raph's bed. Moving to the next room, Mikey found Donnie's bedroom empty as well. April's picture frame was still prominent on the genius' single desk. Leonardo's room was spotless as ever, also devoid of the said turtle. "Huh?" Mikey mused. If they were all up already, how did they manage to even make breakfast? Surely he didn't sleep through it? He would've smelled something burning even in his sleep.

Making his way into the kitchen, Miley's thoughts were confirmed when he saw three empty cereal bowls in the sink. Ah, so that's what his bros did. At least it was better than burning the kitchen down. Mikey couldn't fathom how many times he had to put out the flames. It was obvious that his brothers couldn't cook. Although Leo could make tea and ramen, that was about it. Cereal on the other hand anyone could do that.

Mikey decided that he could pour some milk into a bowl of cereal as well. He could cook something for himself, but he didn't feel like it. After finishing his bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, he set his bowl into the sink before exiting the kitchen. It was then he heard voices muttering. They were coming from the lab. What were his brothers doing there? Walking to the lab, Mikey pried open the giant metal doors as he was met with a sight of his three brothers gathered around Donnie's desk.

"Just need to work on this retromutagen," Donnie said, adding drops of chemicals into a beaker. Raph looked seemingly bored, leaning against the side of the table. Leo on the other hand had his arms folded across his plastron, a stern expression on his face.

"We know what we must do," Leo replied. He turned his head as the other two finally noticed that Mikey was standing in the doorway.

"Dudes!" Mikey grinned widely. "What are you doing?" He walked up to see the lather.

"I've been tracking new mutants roaming across the city," Donnie began to explain. "And I've been making a batch of retromutagen to use to turn the mutants human again."

Mikey nodded his head, opening his mouth to speak, only to feel Leo's hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mikey. But it's best if you sit this one out."

"What?" The freckled terrapin couldn't believe what he heard. "But I wanna coooome too!" He pouted.

"We can't risk what happened last time," Leo gave him a solemn expression.

"Besides, you don't look too good, Mikey. You need to rest," Donnie added.

"But... I feel fine," Mikey tilted his head in confusion. He felt Raph pushing him out from the lab.

"Bed, now Mikey." Mikey growled at that, he was fine! Why were his brothers being so... protective? He didn't want to sit around and do nothing! Mikey took a step, only to feel the world suddenly spin before his eyes. He felt himself collapsing as darkness overtook him.

The next moment, Mikey's eyes flew open. His heart pounded against his plastron sweat dotting his forehead. What the shell just happened?! He was back in his bed and- did his brothers put him here? Mikey groaned, rubbing the side of his head as he sat up from his mattress. And why did everything feel so hazy?

His door opened with a squeaking noise as Mikey left his room. His orange bandana mask dangled in his hand, before putting it around his eyes and tied into the back. He could hear muttering voices coming from the lab. His bros were in the lab again??? The freckled turtle tiptoed to the lab doors, peeking to sneak a furtive glance inside. There his three brothers were, standing around Donnie's lab desk again. The purple turtle was in the same position as before, as was Leo and Raph.

"My trackers have been picking up mutagenic traces in the city," Mikey could hear Donnie say. Mikey's hand clenched around the handle of the metal door. Didn't this just happen?

Huh? Mikey pulled his head back. He turned away from the lab doors. The turtle shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Maybe he was sick after all- Suddenly, heat scorched Mikey's skin. It felt like the world had exploded, Mikey's body crashing into the TV pit. Smoke filled the air as Mikey hacked. He lifted his head to find that the lab doors had broken off its hinges and smoke was coming from the lab. Wait! His brothers were just in the lab!

"Dudes!" Mikey coughed, groaning as he pushed himself off the floor. He ran toward the broken entrance. It was typical for Donnie to have explosions in his lab, but this was different. It wasn't like anything Mikey had seen. It was huge, terrible enough to send himself flying when he wasn't even in the room. And what was worse was the fact that all his older brothers were in there.

Mikey raced into the room as the smoke finally cleared. Beakers were shattered on the floor, the table having fallen over. Several flames were still lit, scattered about. "Bros?!" Mikey screamed, realizing that none of his bros were around. Did they just?.... No... it couldn't be...

The retromutagen was leaking across the floor, but it was somehow mixed with a strange eerie red color that shriveled up. It was then Mikey heard the sound of crying. Wait.... crying? The turtle walked around the fallen table to gasp in horror at the sight before him. There his three bros were, but something was wrong. They were little, three little turtle tots. Reality slammed into Mikey all at once. He made a wish... and it came true.


	3. Three Little Tots

"Holy chalupa," were the only words that escaped Michelangelo's lips. Mikey could scarcely believe his eyes. His three older brothers were turtle tots!

Baby blue irises widened as he noticed the olive-green turtle crawling toward the outlet in the wall. The dark green turtle stomped his feet angrily, whereas the emerald green turtle stood at the base of Mikey's feet, peering up at him.

"My wish.... It came true..." That's when Mikey realized that something went wrong here. Something must've went terribly wrong with Donnie's experiment, hence the explosion. This shouldn't be happening. The turtle stood there in panic, not noticing the danger that Donnie was getting into, as Raph grasped his foot, tackling the turtle tot. "Come on, Mikey, think!" The orange clad turtle clasped both sides of his face in horror. "What would Donnie do? What would Donnie do?" he turned his head, letting out a gasp. "DONNIE!"

The turtle lunged at the tot that was attempting to grasp the cord in the wall. Mikey managed to scoop him up as Donnie made a babbling noise as he pointed toward the outlet. "No," Donnie began to squirm in Mikey's arms. "Me want outlet!" he shrieked.

"Chill out, D," Mikey grunted, trying to maintain a hold on the younger turtle. "You can't do that, it's dangerous," he scolded the olive-green turtle. Donnie's brown eyes peered up at him, closing his mouth. Mikey wasn't dumb, even he knew that touching an outlet chord would result in getting shocked, let's just say that he had personal experience.

As if on cue, three sounds of crying came from all three of the younger turtle tots. Mikey flinched, gazing down to find Donnie crying and squirming in his arms. Leo was staring at his stomach whilst Raph stomped his foot angrily.

"Oh, I guess you dudes are hungry huh?" Mikey grinned. "I know what to do!" He bent down to pick up both Leo and Raph, holding his brothers in his arms. The orange masked turtle walked toward the kitchen as he set his brothers onto the counter. If he set them onto the stools they wouldn't be able to reach the counter, despite their small size. "Just sit tight here, dudes while I make you a delish meal!" Mikey chuckled, placing his hands onto his hips.

Leonardo regarded him curiously, whereas Donnie's gaze fell on the pots and pans that Mikey took out onto the stove. He was fascinated by all the tools. Little Raphael growled, pounding his feet against the countertop. Mikey toppled several slices of peaches, and bananas into a pot to stir. He knew that babies wouldn't exactly eat pizza, though he would feed his brothers that if he could. But he knew better, and he bet that they love this baby mush that we was making.

Mikey mashed the peaches and bananas together before scooping them into small mini bowls. He reached up into the back of a cupboard to grasp three sippy cups and mini spoons. Master Splinter had kept their baby supplies, even through all the years he didn't throw them away.

Mikey sighed, setting down the sippy cups and spoons. He opened the fridge to grasp a carton of orange juice, pouring a portion each into every sippy cup. Master Splinter... if only he was here, he'd know what to do. After all, he did raise all four them since they were turtle tots.

"Here you go, dudes, eat up!" Mikey grinned, pushing the bowls of mush toward his brothers. Leo picked up his spoon as he dug in, with Donnie following suit. The olive-green turtle poked the mush hesitantly, watching Leo before reciprocating him. Raph merely stared down at his bowl, before folding his arms with a 'humph.' Mikey reached over them to grasp their bandanas. Since they had shrunk, their bandanas didn't fit anymore. Mikey took them off, before replacing them around their heads and tying them to fit better.

"Come on, Raphie," Mikey pushed the bowl further towards the red masked turtle, urging him on. "You gotta eat up."

"No," Raph shook his head, pouting angrily. He moved his hand forward to knock over the bowl of mashed fruit, as it plopped over the counter and dripped onto the floor. Mikey gasped, rubbing the side of his face as he bent over to clean up the little mess that Raph made. Even as a tot Raph was still a pain in the butt.

Mikey took another clean fresh bowl, adding the remaining leftovers from the pot into it. He turned to face Raph with a determined look on his face. "Hey, Raph. I got pizza." The said turtle turned toward Mikey, raising his head intrigued. Mikey took the opportunity to shove a spoonful of the fruit mush into Raph's mouth. The red masked turtle gagged, as Mikey continued to invade his mouth with more food. Mikey began to tickle him, leaving the younger turtle no choice but to giggle and open his mouth. Once he had finished shoving Raph's mouth with food, the turtle had swallowed as Mikey held out the tippy cups. This time, Raph obliged as did the other two.

The freckled turtle leaned his chin into his palm onto the counter as he watched his younger brothers sip away their orange juice. He was going to have to figure out a way in order to return his brothers back normal again. He never expected this to actually happen, yet somehow it still occurred from a single wish upon a star. Oooooor perhaps, perhaps he could enjoy this. Mikey snickered, watching as Raph spurted orange juice from his mouth into Leo and Donnie's faces. Donnie scrunched up his face, flailing his arms about as he whined. Leo glared back at Raph lifting up his sippy cup. Donnie continued to rub his eyes as he leaned back, further than he was supposed to.

Mikey's eyes widened in that sheer moment, his body moving in a flash. He had caught Donnie before the turtle had the chance to smack against the floor. Mikey could feel his heart hammering inside his chest as he held Donnie close to his plastron. The turtle pressed closer as Mikey gazed down at him as a certain feeling washed over him. Sure he had felt something like this before, but it was overwhelming urge to protect them, protect his little brothers from any harm whatsoever.

Was this what his older brothers felt? Was this what older brothers felt toward their younger siblings? Mikey always thought that it was annoying to his older brothers always on his shell, but now it was reversed. Now he was the one who protect them from anything. Mikey reached over the counter with his other free arm to pull Leo and Raph next to Donnie. Mikey embraced them closely to his plastron, gazing down at them. His baby blue irises twinkled. His brothers looked so adorable, so precious.

"Don't worry, dudes, I won't let anything happen to you."


	4. Big Bro Mikey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ready for some fluff? :3

Mikey grunted, chasing Raphael for what seemed to be the fourteenth time. Once they had finished their banana mush, Mikey decided to feed them some more. And Raph somehow, ended up spilling the food all over and throwing it over Donnie and Leo. The three of them were covered with goop in a complete mess. Mikey knew he had to do something about it, since Leonardo began to cry, trying to clean off his messy self. Donnie on the other hand was trying to suck on some goop on his feet. That left the orange clad turtle no choice but to give his brothers a bath. And of course, Raphael didn't want nothing to do with it.

Raph had screamed and thrashed, having escaped Mikey's arms. Mikey had chased him around several times, bringing him to the tub only for the little hothead to manage to escape somehow once again. The orange masked turtle heaved a sigh, gazing at Leo and Donnie who were already in the tub in the bathroom. "Leo," Mikey instructed, pointing at the blue masked turtle. Leo turned his head, gazing curiously at Mikey as he listened intently. "Make sure that D stays there." He motioned towards Donnie. The purple masked turtle was crawling toward the drain poking it. Leo nodded his head in confirmation.

Leonardo let out a little noise, grasping Donnie as he tugged him back, preventing him from grasping the drain. "No," he commanded, trying to keep his brother put.

"Good," Mikey nodded before pursuing after Raph once again. He found his red masked brother pick up a comic book and began tearing it to shreds. He giggled frantically at the sound, laughing.

"No! Not The Adventures of Wingnut and Screwloose!" Mikey gasped in horror at the sight of his precious torn comic book. Raph snickered, giggling as he turned his head noticing Mikey standing there. The orange clad turtle had the urge to yell at Raph for destroying his comic book, but the turtle instead took in a deep breath. No, he couldn't yell at his brothers, not even little Raph. The real Raph wouldn't be as heartless to tear apart his comic books without any reason to, and he was just a little tot, so he didn't know any better. He thought it was fun.

Mikey knelt down, instantaneously snatching Raph into his arms. "Calm down, Raphie," he whispered, as an idea popped into his mind. "Oh I know!" The dark turtle stilled in his hold as Mikey made his way toward Raph's room. He selected one of his action figures that he had stolen long ago. He had seen Raph playing with his action figures once. "Maybe you'd like to play with unicorn man huh?" Emerald irises peered at the said action figure, before gripping it from Mikey's grasp. Raph babbled happily, flexing the man's biceps as he giggles. This earned a sigh of relief from Mikey. Now for once he had simmered Raph down. Taking him toward the bathroom, to where Leonardo sat watching over Donnie. Mikey set Raph into the tub as he began to fill it up with warm water and soapy bubbles.

Mikey allowed himself to slouch against the wall once the tub was full. Raph continued to play with the action figure as Donnie seemed fascinated by all the bubbles. The genius tot would poke them and gasp as they popped. Leo stood there calmly as ever, gently splashing the water. Mikey grinned, smiling as he watched his brothers play. They were so cute, and now he understood how Master Splinter felt, but also the feeling of how much work it was to take care of several turtle tots. Raph on the other hand was definitely quite a handful.

The orange masked turtle picked up a bar of soap as he began to lather his little brothers' bodies. He had to prevent Donnie from grasping the soap and shoving it into his mouth. "No, D, you can't eat this," he shook his head at the olive-green turtle, shaking a finger at him. Leo gazed up at him, reaching his arms up as he made a cooing noise. "What is it, Leo?"

The blue masked turtle tot kept reaching towards Mikey, as if he wanted his attention. "You want me?" Mikey reached over to pull Leo out from the water. The turtle kicked his legs, making a whining noise as he shook his head.

"No!" He pointed a finger at Mikey and then to the tub.

"Oh? You want me to take a bath too?" A grin appeared on Leo's face as he nodded his head. "All right." Mikey took a tentative step into the tub, careful to not budge any of his brothers. He slowly sank into the bubbles as Leo giggled, seemingly satisfied. Mikey could feel the turtle sitting one of his thighs as he kicked his legs in the water, and splashed Mikey in the process. "Heeeey, no fair. You're getting water all over me!"

Mikey then felt something patting his plastron and chin. He turned to find Donnie gathering some bubbles and patting them onto him. It looked as if the freckled turtle had a bubbly chest and a beard made of bubbles. The lime-green terrapin chuckled before feeling more water being splashed at him. It was Raph who had thrown the toy aside and decided to copy Leo. Soon enough the three of them were all splashing water everywhere, Mikey included. The bigger turtle didn't even bother about water sloshing over the edge of the tub and onto the bathroom floor. He giggled, splashing his little brothers back gently.

"You dudes ready for a fist bomb!" Mikey thrust down his fist into the tub, a huge splash erupting followed by three loud squeals. The turtle grinned, as he noticed that his brothers were finally clean. Of course they had all caused a huge mess in the bathroom with spilled water, but Mikey didn't care. Why did it matter? It had been years since he had bath time with his brothers, and the four of them just having fun.

He stood up as the bubbles had finally dissipated, to the point that there were no more. Mikey scooped up his three brothers as he used a towel to dry them off, and himself in the process. Walking out from the bathroom, Mikey took his brothers into the TV pit. He had quickly returned to his room to gather several of his toys and brought them out. He laid them out for his brothers to play with, as he turned on a show of Crognard. Leo sat down next to him, eyes trained to the TV. Donnie on the other hand was putting blocks together in creating some sort of tower. And Raph... he was attempting to climb up Mikey's shell.

"Haha, Raph what are you doing?" Mikey chuckled, flinching as he felt a hard tug on his mask tails. "Ah!" Raph climbed up until he was sitting on Mikey's shoulders with his arms over his head. "So you want to sit up there huh?" Mikey grinned, trying not to jostle Raph too much. He returned his attention back to his show as the others began to watch curiously. At one point during the show, Leo stood up trying to mimic one of the moves that Crognard did.

"Ha!" Leo thrust out his hand, making a punch in the air. Mikey snickered at that, even as a tot Leo was still Leo.

"Oh, I know something!" Mikey stood abruptly, making sure to keep a hand on Raph to prevent him from falling off his shoulders. The orange masked turtle grasped the box as he took out a special DVD set. "What if we watch Space Heroes?" he inserted the disc as he turned on the show. Mikey sat, regarding Leonardo's reaction. The blue masked turtle squealed loudly as he scooted directly in front of the TV.

"Oooooh!" Leo drawled, eyes wide with fascination and practically glued to the TV. Mikey laughed at this. Yep, still Leo.

Hearing Raph make a noise of discomfort, Mikey removed him from his shoulders. He sat Raph on his lap as he noticed Donnie grasp a pen that he had laid out. Mikey reached over to place a piece of paper next to Donnie. Brown eyes were wide with excitement as the little turtle began to scribble away.

Mikey craned his head down as he found emerald irises peering up at him. "Hey, Raphie," Mikey grinned at him. The hothead made a giggling noise, reaching a hand up as he forcefully tugged onto Mikey's mask. "ACK!" Mikey grunted, feeling the fabric tighten around his face. "Raph!" He managed to pry his little hands away, keeping him at length's distance. The freckled turtle leaned forward, spidering his fingers along Raph's side as the little turtle erupted into fit of giggles and laughter. "Oh, so Raphie is ticklish!" He continued to torment Raph with tickles until the turtle was nearly breathless.

Mikey sat him up as the turtle rubbed his eyes. Leo turned, walking towards Mikey as he yawned. "Aww you dudes getting tired?" Mikey cooed, inviting them into his arms. He peered over to find Donnie already passed out, with a pen still clutched in his teeny hand, with his mouth open and practically drooling on the floor.

"I suppose it's nap time for you dudes?" Mikey tilted his head, before grinning. He held Leo and Raph close as he had to bend over to pick up Donnie. "Don't worry you all can sleep in my room." The said turtle trudged toward his bedroom. He closed the door behind him with a soft click before laying his three brothers on his bed.

Picking up one of his comic books, Mikey laid down beside them as he began to read. He had countless memories of Master Splinter reading to them when they were little, in order to help them to fall asleep faster. As he began to read, he could see the sleepiness overtaking his three brothers. The three of them leaned closer to him, snuggling into him. Mikey grinned at the sight, aweing. He wrapped his arms around his brothers protectively as he set aside his comic book. Leaning back, he cuddled his little brothers to his plastron.

"Love you dudes," Mikey made sure to press a soft kiss to each of their foreheads. He could feel them snuggling closer into his plastron as the freckled turtle closed his eyes in return. "Big bro Mikey will always be here." Soon enough, he drifted off into sleep as well.


	5. Brotherly Instincts

Mikey yawned, smacking his lips. He stretched his arms above him, opening his eyes to gaze at his plastron. He expected to find three small forms sleeping on his plastron. However, to his horror his brothers weren't there.

"Dudes?!" Mikey shot up from the bed. He wasted no time nabbing his mask as he opened his bedroom door. "Leo! Donnie! Raph!" His heart began to pound furiously in his chest as he searched the lair. He found no sign of them. "No, no, no, no, NO!" They had left the lair?!

Mikey frantically leapt over the turnstiles and down the subway tracks. If they had ventured out into the sewers they could've gotten far. But the subway tracks were a dangerous place. Mikey shook his head, trying to get the horrid image of what could happen out of his brain. No.... They wouldn't be turtle mush... they couldn't...

Mikey dashed down the sidewalk of the tracks, scanning his surroundings. They had to be around somewhere! He didn't know what he would do if he could never find his brothers. It was then Mikey could hear a faint noise, a sound that he didn't want to hear. The sound of crying. 

"Holy sewer pickles..." he dreaded the worst. Propelling himself to run faster Mikey came to a familiar area in the sewers, one where the drainage was. It was a place he recalled a dark memory, the time he fell in that drainage pool with a squirrelanoid.

He saw Leo standing there leaning over the edge, screaming as Raph was beside him. The hothead was slamming his little fists against the cement. Mikey wasted no time to grasp both of them, only to realize that Donnie wasn't with them. Raph straggled violently in his grasp, as Leo had tears streaming down his face.

"D! D!" Leo screamed. Mikey was shocked, typically Leo was calm in a situation like this, and here he was screaming and terrified. But it made sense since they were little turtle tots, and fully matured. Oh how ironic, with Mikey being the most mature one here. The orange masked turtle leaned over the edge to find Donnie in the drainage pool.

The rushing water swirled around the olive-green turtle. Donnie was screaming, hot tears leaking from his eyes, his face as he screamed at the top of his lungs, thrashing in the water's current.

"DONNIE!" Mikey could feel something twist in his gut. He set down Leo and Raph, and dove headfirst into the drainage pool. He had this driving urge to grab Donnie to stop him from getting hurt or worse. The freckled turtle had never swam so hard against a current before, adrenaline coursing through his veins. The moment Donnie's body was pulled under, Mikey held in his breath as he dove after him.

He could feel the current racing against him, but he fought against it. His arm shot out a viper, his grip solid as iron on Donnie as he brought the flailing turtle to his plastron. Mikey kicked with all his might as he managed to free his nunchaku with one hand, flinging out the blade and kusarigama chain. The blade wedged itself at the top edge. The turtle tugged on the chain, flinging himself out from the water as he held Donnie close to him. He was thrown over the edge back to the top landing. The turtle tot had stopped screaming and clung tightly onto Mikey for dear life.

The orange masked turtle heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He took Leo and Raph into his arms as well. Leo hugged Donnie tightly, leaning his head against the tiny genius. Raph patted Donnie's head, looking relieved. Mikey closed his eyes, trying to let himself relax. Immense relief flooded throughout his body. "Don't ever scare me like that again," he pointed a serious finger at three off his brothers. Now he understood how Leo and his older brothers felt whenever one of them got hurt or in trouble, especially whenever Mikey did. He understood why they would scold him, and get overprotective even when it came as annoying to him. They only cared about him, and being older brothers you can't help your brotherly instincts.

Mikey stood up, cuddling his brothers close as he headed in the direction back towards the lair. "I'm not letting you dudes out of my sight, ever." Once he had brought them back into the safety of the lair, Mikey took them into the kitchen. This time he took out a bowl of Cheerios, feeding his bros little cereal bites for breakfast. This time, Raph complied and didn't bother with making a mess.

Afterwards, he took them into the TV room to play with toys. Mikey took out one of Leo's Space Heroes comics that he had found in his room. He sat Leonardo on his lap as he began to read the scene of Captain Ryan guiding his crew through space. Stars appeared in Leo's eyes as he sat there with his hands on his legs.

"Captain Rwan!" Mikey giggled at Leo's excitement and enthusiasm. It was then he heard grunting as Donnie began to make noises.

"No! Mine!" Donnie grunted tugging on the block that Raph was trying to steal. The red masked turtle swung out his hand, knocking over Donnie's tower. Donnie gasped as Mikey took Leo off his lap for a brief moment.

"Raphie," Mikey stood towering over the said turtle. He tilted his head up, scowling as he clutched one of Donnie's blocks. "Give it back," Mikey scolded, tapping one of his feet. He pointed a finger at Donnie who was trembling.

Raph huffed, before handing Donnie back his block. The olive-green turtle grinned in delight before going back to rebuild a new tower. Donnie picked up several more blocks of legos as he began to build some sort of machine.

"Good, now apologize," Mikey added. Raph folded his arms angrily, shaking his head. "If you don't apologize, you'll be Uh- put in time out."

Raph sagged you his knees, pouting angrily. He stood up walking over to Donnie, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I Sowwy Donnie," he said.

"Good job," Mikey grinned, pleased as he patted Raph's head gently. "Here, I know something that will keep you occupied." He walked over to where Raph's punching bag hung. He lowered the bag from the rail, setting it upon the floor. Raph's eyes trailed to the bag as he tackled it, sitting upon it as he threw little punches. "That should do it." Mikey day back down, returning Leo to his lap.

"More!" Leo hugged him tightly, eyes pleading and begging as he pointed to the Space Heroes comic. Mikey snickered at his reaction, picking up the comic book once again. Leo just couldn't resist. He began to read another chapter, feeling Leo snuggling into his neck. Mikey smiled, keeping an arm around Leo.

Usually it was Leo doing this to him when he was little, but now the tables were turned. Mikey took in a deep breath as Leo eventually fell asleep against him. A wide smile still plastered on his face. Feeling a hand touching his leg, Mikey lowered his gaze to find Donnie peering up at him, with puppy dog eyes. Jeez, no wonder his bros couldn't avoid his, but now he couldn't even avoid Donnie's.

Picking up the turtle, Donnie cuddled close to him, closing his eyes. Another pat to his shoulder signified Raph's presence. "Aww, Raphie wants to cuddle with big bro Mikey too?" Mikey cooed.

Raph turned his head sharply, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he folded his arms across his plastron. Mikey wrapped an arm around the hothead, joining him into his embrace. Raph had an arm over both Leo and Donnie as he met Mikey's gaze. 

"Don't worry, I'll be watching you dudes," Mikey replied, as if he could read Raph's thoughts. "I won't let anything happen to you. None of you are getting out of my grip this time," Mikey tightened his grip for emphasis. Raph closed his eyes, as if he was satisfied by Mikey's statement.

"Wove you, Mikey," the dark turtle whispered, before he too drifted off into sleep along with Donnie.

"Awww," Mikey beamed. It was rare of Raph to confess that he loved him, but he had heard him nonetheless there was no denying that. "Love you too, Raphie. And you too, D and Leo," Mikey smiler affectionately, watching his three brothers sleeping peacefully. As much as he wanted to fix everything back to the way it was, he certainly didn't want to.

A dull throb pounded against the back of Mikey's head as he could feel his own eyelids closing. Dang, he was exhausted. Taking care of three rambunctious turtle tots was quite the challenge. Perhaps nap time with them was something that he needed too. With that, he drifted off into slumber.


	6. Reality

Mikey awoke to his head pounding against the side of his skull. He groaned, slowly sitting up as he could feel sweat dotting his skin. What happened? Why was he feeling so... off? His hands felt empty... wait! His little bros! Mikey's eyes flew open in panic. They weren't in his arms. No, no, no, no, this couldn't be happening again!

"Dudes!"

"Woah, Mikey," a hand pressed against his plastron, pushing him back down against something soft. Mikey could see blobs of purple, red and blue around him. "You need to take it easy."

"Wha?" Mikey blinked several times, trying to clear his blurry vision. Once the blurriness had subsided he found himself in the lab, and laying down on a white cot. All three of his brothers were standing around his cot. "Dudes! What are you doing up? You should be taking your naps!"

"Uh... what?" Leo blinked in a perplexing manner, gazing at Donnie for some sort of explanation. "Is he delusional, Donnie?"

"He shouldn't be anymore, since he's cured."

"Wait..." Mikey's eyes widened in realization. It hit him like a freight train. "Why are you all older? I'm supposed to be older than you all!" he gestured to his body, finding himself to be exactly the same. "You were just little tots, what happened?"

"News flash, Shell for Brains," Raph huffed, folding his arms across his plastron. "The three of us were never tots to begin with."

"Wow sounds like you had a great dream, Mikey," Leo grinned, placing his hands onto his hips.

"Wait... dream?" Mikey could've sworn that his eyes were bulging out. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yes, Mikey. After you got hit by that shuriken with poison, you've been reduced to a comatose state for a while," Donnie elaborated, checking Mikey's vitals.

"After our fight with the Purple Dragons, we didn't realize that shuriken that cut you was poisoned. As the next day you were completely out of it, and Donnie did a scan on your body and found out that you were indeed poisoned," Leo gave him a stern expression. "So then Donnie had to do some research to find a cure."

"So ya saying, that me taking care of all three of you wasn't real?..." Mikey rubbed his left arm instinctively. "You mean... I wasn't the oldest?"

"Ha," Raph snorted, "only in ya dreams."

"But it felt so real I swear! I made a wish on the wishing star and my wish came true!"

"You did make a wish, but that didn't happen, Mikey," Donnie rolled his eyes. "You've been watching too many Disney movies. Reality doesn't work that way."

"For once I was the oldest," Mikey continued, ignoring Donnie's commentary. "I was the oldest and not the youngest," he began to pout.

"Wow," Donnie pulled his head back in belated surprise. "Even when you're poisoned you still manage to have crazy sweet dreams. Typically when you're poisoned it would cause your body to hallucinate and have nightmares. But it seemed like that you didn't have any nightmares. You actually looked content and peaceful. I suppose it's due to the specific kind of poison that radicated your system."

"Cheer up, Mikey," the turtle felt a hand on his shoulder. He gazed up to find Leonardo smiling at him. "You're all better now," the bed dented with Leo's weight as he sat down. "But please, try to be careful next time. We were worried sick about you."

"Right," Raph nodded his head. "You were pale as a ghost and barely breathing!"

"Next time you're feeling off, you better tell us right away," Donnie mentions, as he nodded satisfied at the monitor that was tracking Mikey's vitals.

"M'sorry," Mikey whispered, twiddling his fingers. He lifted his gaze as he grinned widely. "I now understand why you dudes are so protective and scold me all the time. Sometimes it gets on my nerves and I wished that I didn't have to be the youngest, but now I understand." His brothers were silent, regarding him as Michelangelo continued. "But now I realize just how much work it is to be the oldest, you're always caring for your younger brothers," Mikey sat up slowly this time, smiling as Donnie took out the IVs from his arms. "And boi it was a handful being the oldest, and now I can say for surety that I am glad that I'm the youngest."

"Good," Leonardo chuckled, rubbing the top of Mikey's head fondly. The orange masked turtle closed his eyes at the soft feeling, relishing in it. He didn't realize just how much he had missed being the one receiving attention. He was giving it all to his brothers, without anyone doing it to him in return. "Because that's how it's supposed to be."

"You were always meant to be the little brother, ya doof," Raph gave him a gentle nudge in the arm. Leo pulled his hand away allowing Raph to give Mikey a playful noogie. This elicited a giggle from Mikey's lips.

"That should do it," Donnie beamed, packing away all the medical supplies. "You may be feeling some after effects from the poison, but you are now poison free."

"Thanks, D!" The olive-green turtle didn't expect himself to be tackled into a hug.

"Mikey! You should still be resting!" Brown irises glanced down to find the freckled turtle nuzzling into his plastron. Donnie sagged, before wrapping his arms around his little brother in return. "All right, hugs are the exception."

Mikey tilted his head up, his eyes glittering with sparkles, practically using puppy dog eyes. "I love you, D."

"Love you too, Mikey," Donnie grinned, patting his head gently.

"Since Mikey still needs to recover from the after effects, who's up for a movie marathon?" Leo smirked.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Me!" Donnie released Mikey as the turtle bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly as he faced Leo. "Can we have pizza too!? Pretty please? With jellybeans on top?"

Leo chuckled at Mikey's exuberance. "Yes, we can add jelly bean pizza."

"Leave it ta me," Raph turned to exit the lab. "I'll order the pizza." As strange as it was to request jelly bean pizza from a pizza restaurant, they did it, nonetheless. Mikey followed Donnie and Leo out into the TV pit as he sat down into a soft bean bag.

"What would you like to watch, Mikey?" Donnie questioned, grasping the box full of tapes and DVDs.

"Something with action," Mikey hummed, slouching further into his beanbag.

"How about Indiana Jones?" Donnie held out the DVD.

"Yes!" Mikey pumped a fist into the air. "I love Indiana Jones!" Leonardo dragged another beanbag beside Mikey, he took taking a seat. Mikey turned to gaze at the leader as Donnie began to insert the disc into the DVR.

"I got the pizza!" Raph called not a minute later. Mikey took a whiff sighing out a 'mmmmm.' He groaned suddenly as he twisted himself around.

"Ugh, my shell is sore. This beanbag is squashed."

"Here," he felt a pair of hands grasping him, tugging him away from his beanbag and onto Leo's lap, the two sharing Leo's softer beanbag. "That better?" Mikey leaned back against Leo, chuckling at the irony. Wasn't he the one who held Leo in his lap, and now it was reversed?

"Much better," Mikey sighed in relief, feeling Leo's arms around him. He forgot how good this felt, to feel protected and comfortable in one of his older brothers' arms. It made him feel safe.

Donnie pulled away from the TV as the movie began to play. He took Mikey's original spot as Raph appeared in front of them all. The hothead held out the open pizza box, allowing everyone to grab a slice.

"Aww yeah boi!" Mikey took a slice immediately gobbling onto it. Raph set the box onto the side of the couch, he too taking a seat between Leo, Mikey and Donnie. The four of them munched on their delicious pizza slices as they watched the movie together. Mikey enjoyed the close proximity of his brothers. He had to admit now that it wasn't bad to be the youngest, in fact, he's just realized how spoiled he really was. Near the end of the movie Mikey had fallen asleep, his body leaning side-ways and cheek pressed against Raph's shoulder. Leo chuckled at this, still keeping an arm around his baby brother as Raph turned his head. Instead of pushing Mikey away, he allowed the orange masked turtle to lean on him. Raph wrapped an arm around him in return. Donnie smiled at the sight before scooting over to sit in front of Leo and Mikey. Although he had to lower himself down so Raph and Leo could see the TV. Donnie reached up to pat Mikey's knee gently.

"Looks like he's out completely."

"Yeah," Leo smiled, giving Mikey a gentle squeeze. "We love our precious Ototo." The three of them smiled lovingly at Mikey's sleeping form. The youngest looked peaceful and happy, a wide grin on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe not expecting this to all be a fabulous dream huh? Well, I mean if you noticed at the very beginning Mikey did get hit by a shuriken. Plus I did give away a tiny hint of him feeling slightly off when he went to bed. He was extremely tired and was out cold. 
> 
> The fluff was all too adorable!!!!! I LOVE IT! Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this story! :)  
> Have a great day ya'll!


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